SET YOUR EYES on a rare celestial sight this Sunday, as the sun is briefly blocked by a hybrid solar eclipse. This eclipse is a “hybrid” because it will start as an annular eclipse, creating a “ring of fire” around the sun, before it morphs into a total solar eclipse, completely blocking the sun. Although Kenya offers the best front row seats to view this hybrid solar eclipse, it can be seen on the East Coast of the U.S. at 6:30 a.m., or live online via the Slooh Space Camera.

Take a moment to visualize our beautiful South Florida sun completely blocked by the moon. The probate of your estate is much like such an eclipse. Although the suns rays are still effective through the moon, you lose your greatest benefit – light. In just the same way, probate can block the administration of your estate with delay, headache, and hefty expenses. Thus, you are not receiving the full benefits of your estate plan.

The best way to avoid a total, hybrid, or “ring of fire” estate plan eclipse is to incorporate a pour-over will and trust into your estate plan.  A will coupled with a trust effectively bypasses probate. The pour-over will takes all of the property that passes through the will, and funnels it into the trust. The property is then distributed to the trust beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of the trust.  Think of the pour-over will as a safety net that catches all of the assets that were not properly transferred into trust. This effectively removes all of the property from the Last Will & Testament, thereby leaving nothing to be administered through probate.

Don’t let the solar eclipse block your benefits, plan ahead! For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

TODAY marks the eight year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and the destruction that befell New Orleans. It is days like these where we are reminded of the unexpected nature of devastation, recognizing that you can never be too prepared for tomorrow. In the spirit of crisis mitigation, consider whether you are prepared for the unexpected. Do you have a health care surrogate in the event that you become incapacitated? Do you have a guardian for your children? Do you have a valid will that will distribute your assets specifically according to your wishes, while avoiding unnecessary taxes or the costs associated with probate? If any of these questions are answered with a “no,” you may want to consider created an estate plan with the following documents:

1. Living Trust – a living trust has become increasingly desirable due to its ability to avoid probate (the legal process of determining whether a will is valid). If you are married, you may want to designate yourself and your spouse as co-trustees, so that you have full control over the property while you are still alive. Side Note: such control does have tax consequences, so you will want to discuss this with your estate planning attorney.

2. Assignment of Property – this is exactly that, assigning your property to your trust. In other words, placing your property into the trust. This includes both real & personal property. A trust does not do anything for you if there is no property in it.

3. Last Will & Testament – this is your traditional will that is used upon death to distribute property to beneficiaries, specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.

4. Durable Power of Attorney – this allows you to designate and authorize someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated.

5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – this outlines important healthcare decisions in advance, and appoints a healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you when you become unable to do so yourself.

Hurricane Katrina is the poster child for the disaster that can transpire when you are unprepared – take a lesson from Mother Nature, and be equipped for tomorrow’s unexpected!  For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

WELCOME to South Florida, where the month of August departs from “National Back-to-School Month” for the Florida-Foodies ! That’s right, Miami Spice is back, and the good folks of South Florida have the next month to consume the most succulent, scrumptious dishes that may weight heavy on the scales, but are light on the wallet.

But don’t stop there, South Florida! Incorporate the spirit of savings into your estate plans with these coin-purse preserving tips!

• Create a will, but avoid probate! – this can be done through the use of a pour-over will and living trust. A pour-over will takes all of the property that passes through the will, and funnels it into the trust. This property is then distributed to the trust beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of the trust. A pour-over will functions to ensure that all of the decedent’s property is transferred into trust. Think of it as a safety net that catches all of the assets that were not properly transferred into trust. All the contents of the net are then poured into the trust, ensuring that all of the property is ultimately distributed through the living trust.

The benefits of avoiding probate are twofold:

(1) safeguarding your loved one’s from the mental and emotional anguish of the probate process,  which can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years

(2) financial savings – you can expect to pay about three to seven percent of the total estate value in addition to court fees, personal representative fees, attorney’s fees, accounting fees, appraisal and business valuation fees, bond fees, and anything else that may come up along the way.

• Designate a durable power of attorney  – ensure that proper financial decisions are made in the event that you cannot! The designation of a durable power of attorney (“DPA”) functions as a transfer of the grantors power, in the event that he or she becomes incapacitated. Imagine the DPA to be a power-wielding hat, and you wear it to make your own financial and legal decisions. You can only transfer your hat to the individual (or sometimes entity) that you have designated as a power of attorney. A “durable” power of attorney means that the power hat is still effective even when you (the “principal”) are incapacitated. Remember, anyone who is sporting your power hat can only use such powers for your benefit, not their own.

• Virtual will – include your digital assets into your estate plan with instructions for their use for the following financial benefits:

1. Prevention of identity theft – if no one has knowledge or access to your accounts (bank accounts, trading accounts, credit card accounts, etc.), there is a higher probability that identity theft will go unnoticed.
2. Easy discovery of electronic bills and similar accounts, to avoid late fees & cancellations that will create losses for the estate.

Use August to plan for your taste-buds and your future with proper estate planning techniques that will preserve your piggy-bank! For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

Michael D. Wild, managing partner, offers highlights of matters relating to wills and trusts.

When he was the lead mafia boss in the Soprano’s, the IRS would not be a threat to James Gandolfini; as he’d simply bribe a Federal agent, or have “his people take care of it.” But here in the Wild world of reality, only attentive estate planning keeps the IRS monsters at bay. And in this case, the only “hit” that’s taking place, is that against Gandolfini’s estate.

Gandolfini died with an estate that is currently estimated to be $70 million. While he has been a very successful man, his use of poor estate planning has resulted in a lot of grief for both his legacy & loved ones. Although he devised his property through a will to the beneficiaries of his choosing, the IRS has claimed the biggest share, weighing in at about $30 million. Furthermore, his entire will is now a public record that anyone can view, because it was subject to probate (where the court determines the validity of a will).

This estate planning (or lack thereof) catastrophe demonstrates two very critical points in strategic estate planning: (1) avoiding taxes, & (2) creating a private and smooth distribution of property. 

In terms of tax, married couples have an incredible safeguard, called the martial deduction. One of Gandolfini’s biggest mistakes was devising only 20% of his estate to his wife. Due to the unlimited marital deduction, anything you transfer to your spouse is not subject to transfer taxes, and therefore that money goes free & clear of estate taxes upon the death of the transferor (Gandolfini). When you have such a large estate, it is often advisable to include the amount in your gross estate that covers the full applicable exclusion amount (the transfer tax exemption that each individual receives upon death), which is currently at $5,250,000. Then you can transfer the rest to your spouse, and it goes transfer tax free for the time being.

So why did he fail to take advantage of a tax-free transfer? This often happens in cases where there is a child that is from a previous marriage, or a similar complicated family situation. Gandolfini has a son from a previous marriage, and therefore possibly did not want to devise all his assets to his wife, in efforts to ensure his son would be provided for. While this is a valid concern, there are estate planning strategies that can be implemented to obtain these goals, while still safeguarding your assets from excessive taxes. A marital trust is often used in theses situations. The instrument provides that the income from the trust property will be paid to the spouse for life, and then upon the spouse’s death, to the children. This could have dramatically shrunk the IRS bill that will come due in only 9 months.

On the second point, whenever you devise all of your property directly through a will, it will go through probate before the property is distributed to the beneficiaries. The problem with this is that the will becomes public record, and it’s contents are exposed for the whole world to see. This is why it is desirable to use a “pour-over will” that filters all of your assets into a trust. By doing so, you avoid the costs and grief associated with probate, and preserve privacy for yourself, and loved ones.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

IN THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, our nation is encouraged by the latest job market rise. The labor department’s reports have shown that the economy has added 195,000 jobs in both May & June, when analyst were projecting only 160,000.

The thirteen colonies didn’t gain independence for four hundred forty-two days after start of American Revolution. Similarly, it’s taken a good minute to find that same sense of freedom from the depressed job market in South Florida.

The Red, White & Blue’s will to overcome the job market adversity is demonstrative of the motivating force we celebrate this week. With raising job rates, its increasingly more important to keep your triumphant spirit preserved with asset protection strategies. Such strategies will not only protect your hard earned assets, but provide you with the freedom to control their disposition.

When considering your future, claim independence from the unknown, and plan ahead with the following documents:

1. Living Trust – gain control, asset protection, & preclusion of unnecessary taxes through the use of this document.

• Consider: Who would you appoint as your Trustee? Keep in mind, you can be the Trustee, giving yourself greater control over your assets. Make sure you appoint a back-up (successor) Trustee(s) within the document.

2. Assignment of Property – place all of your property into the trust, and avoid costs & headache associated with probate.

• Note: Probate is a very expensive and time consuming process, therefore most prefer to avoid it altogether by assigning all of their property to the trust.

3. Last Will & Testament – used to distribute property to beneficiaries (or a trust), specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.

• Note: Again, in efforts to avoid probate, it may be wise to use a pour-over will so that anything that was not assigned to the trust will be directed to the trust upon the Testator’s death. While the will still has to go through probate, the pour-over will makes the process much more expedient & leaves less room for anyone to contest it’s validity.

4. Durable Power of Attorney (“DPA”) – gain control by designating someone to legally act on your behalf in the event that you become incapacitated.

• Consider: Who will you designate to make decisions on your behalf? Remember, the DPA can only make decisions for your benefit, not their own.

5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – gain control by making important healthcare decisions in advance.

• Note: This outlines important healthcare decisions in advance, and appoints a healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you when you become unable to do so yourself.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 to schedule your free consultation.

It’s a Wild world. Are you protected?SM

WHETHER you’re in South Florida or Timbuktu, you are already well aware that Miami Heat took their second straight NBA championship on Thursday night. LeBron James has been credited as the leader of this win, taking the title of Finals MVP. While LeBron has responded to his worshiping fans with statements of humility and gratefulness; his victory is not limited to his championships. Financial reports show that prior to Lebron’s arrival on the Heat, the franchise was valued at $425 million, and is now estimated to be $625 million.

While we can’t pull a LeBron & help you increase your profits by $200 million within a three year span; we can assist you with a triumphant victory in the estate planning department. The following five documents can help you increase control over your assets, and reduce the costs associated with probate.

1. Living Trust – a living trust has become increasingly desirable due to its ability to avoid probate (the legal process of determining whether a will is valid). If you are married, you may want to designate yourself and your spouse as co-trustees, so that you have full control over the property while you are still alive. Side Note: such control does have tax consequences, so you will want to discuss this with your estate planning attorney.
2. Assignment of Property – this is exactly that, assigning your property to your trust. In other words, placing your property into the trust. This includes both real & personal property. A trust does not do anything for you if there is no property in it.
3. Last Will & Testament – this is your traditional will that is used upon death to distribute property to beneficiaries, specify last wishes, and name guardians for minor children.
4. Durable Power of Attorney – this allows you to designate and authorize someone to legally act on your behalf, in the event that you become incapacitated.
5. Combination Living Will & Designation of Healthcare Surrogate – this outlines important healthcare decisions in advance, and appoints a healthcare surrogate to make healthcare decisions for you when you become unable to do so yourself.

When it comes to your estate, ask yourself, “What Would LeBron Do?” Clearly, he’d maximize winnings & profit! Whether you’re in South Florida or Timbuktu, protecting your assets & decreasing your costs is both a winning and profit maximization.

For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Partners, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at mwild@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation.

        It’s a Wild world. Are you protected? SM